SIL East Asia

SIL International has been working in many countries around the world for more than 50 years to study, develop and document the world's lesser-known languages. This work has not only contributed to national and international understanding of the richness of human languages, but has also served to contribute to the well-being of the peoples themselves. Partnerships are formed with host governments, non-governmental organizations and universities. SIL has carried out linguistic investigation in 2,590 languages, spoken by 1.7 b illion people in more than 100 countries (current as per November 2010)

In 1983 the East Asia Group of SIL International began seeking out cooperative linguistic opportunities with partners in the People's Republic of China.

Reputation for Excellence

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recognized SIL International as an NGO which contributes in the field of language development, and has granted SIL International special consultative status. This status invites SIL International to designate official representatives to the United Nations headquarters in New York and to the UN offices in Geneva and Vienna.

Personnel

More than 160 volunteers serve with SIL East Asia. They come from many different parts of the world, including: Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan Province , the United Kingdom, the United States, and others.

SIL East Asia members desire to help members of the cultural communities of the People's Republic of China achieve their full potential through social, intellectual, and physical development. Linguistic research, translation projects, and promotion of literacy are key aspects of this development.

Financial support for personnel and projects of SIL East Asia comes from individual sponsors, international funding agencies and charitable organizations.